Monday, December 20, 2010

i saw these guys on another blog & for the love of god i can't remember who introduced this band to me...so my apologies...

but ever since i read about this band, i've been listening to them...mumford & sons have a great sound {gotta love a banjo!} and i'm especially enjoying the acoustic bookshop sessions, from which i posted above...nice soundtrack for the rain we've been having here in los angeles...

Friday, December 17, 2010

what are you up to this weekend? if you are in los angeles, please consider donating toys to children's hospital los angeles. they have run out of toys! it breaks my heart to think of kids in the hospital at all, let alone on christmas, so please consider brightening one child's life this season...since they only accept new toys, i try to purchase eco-friendly wooden toys, that are safe and non-toxic. these kids are already so exposed to toxins, why expose them to more...

in fact, continue to spread the love for children with cancer, eschew the gift giving frenzy and for the adults in your life, consider a donation to a favorite charity. one of my favorites is the pablove foundation, fighting childhood cancer with love. the foundation was started by our friends, jeff & jo ann, who lost their sweet boy, pablo to cancer. they have turned their struggle into an amazing foundation that helps other kids...truly an inspiration.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

ok, i'll admit it: not everything i buy for beatrice is vintage, home-made or from a re-sale shop...sometimes i buy her some basics, toys, books & other sweet stuff from zulily or gilt sales. basically they are invite only sales where they feature great deals on clothes, books & toys for babies and maternity & nursing gear for mamas {gilt also has women's, men's, gift & home sales, but i only shop children's!}...i've gotten a few of my favorite glamourmom nursing tanks on zulily for half price...

this morning i bought a super-sweet tunic from kayce hughes, an adorable striped sailor suit & floral playsuit from coccoli. pretty cute items that i probably wouldn't have purchased full price...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

lucky thirteen weeks old...beatrice is really much more alert to the world and enjoying every minute of it. smiles, smiles and laughter. she's also graduated to facing out in her moby wrap. she can hold her head up very well and loves looking at the world go by...she's still a great sleeper at night, although lately she's been waking a bit more for feedings...but i can't complain...

she also took her first plane trip last week...it was a short flight, just one hour home to oakland, but she did great! she nursed on take off and landing and didn't fuss at all. i'm so glad i bought an extra seat for her, it's so much safer...i never understood just holding a baby on a flight. both my parents are in the airline business, though, and they always said it was better to have a baby secure in their own seat if {god forbid} anything happened. patty & i were flying home once and the plane had so much turbulence, the wings were at a ninety degree angle to the ground! i can't imagine having to put beatrice under the seat in front of me in that situation...

so if you're traveling this upcoming holiday season with baby, spring for the seat & bring her carseat, hopefully you won't need it, but it's worth it!

Monday, December 13, 2010

in the morning, beatrice loves to have a dance party...we put on music and i dance with her until she falls asleep for her morning nap. one of her favorites is home by edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros, but lately, we've been listening to a children's station on pandora. i keep bookmarking the same artist over & over again, so i decided to check them out...renee & jeremy.

they are not new to the kids' music scene, their first album, it's a big world, came out in 2007...but i am new to the kids' music scene, so i'm just now learning of them. the songs i kept bookmarking on pandora are from it's a big world, and they are all really beautiful, loving, sweet songs...their voices together give me goosebumps. you absolutely do not need children to enjoy these tunes...but being a parent just enhances the already lovely listening experience...

i'm excited to really listen to their other album, c'mon, of which this is the title song...and who can resist little drummer boy...i had to download that one right away!

Friday, December 10, 2010

so i was off to such a good start posting every day, then i had to go away and it all went down the tubes. it's been quite a week, i went home to a funeral, celebrated my aunt's birthday, visited with family, showed off bea to my parents' friends {at their urging, of course}, mourned a lost dog, celebrated the safe return of said dog, found out another favorite dog has heart disease, talked to the vet after one of our long-time client dogs got out of surgery, and did more work on a project that will hopefully allow me to spend more time at home with the baby...phew...

the passing of my friend's brother at the much too early age of 36 really put things in perspective. the funeral was a wonderful celebration of his short & full life...the church was full of friends and family, it was quite a showing. since this was a friend from childhood, there were many faces from the past at the funeral that i hadn't seen in ages. of course it was great to see them, but too bad such unfortunate circumstances brought us together. i brought baby bea and when i hugged my friend at the service, she said, "i'm so glad you brought her, it reminds me of the cycle of life and that life continues on..."

i'm so grateful for all the friends, family, dogs and love in my life.

have a wonderful weekend! i'm going to put together posts for next week, do lots of laundry, go to the farmer's market, spend time with friends, family & dogs, and of course nurse the baby...

Friday, December 3, 2010

i'm writing this post with a heavy heart, a good friend of mine's brother recently passed away and i'm preparing to travel home for his funeral. i've known my friend since we were eight, and her little brother was in my little brother's class.

i'm going to be flying for the first time with beatrice, but at least it's a short flight...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

jamie at a desert fete has just launched her new business {cactus & quail}, an amazing design & paper studio. she offers both custom & ready-made options, which can be helpful when on a budget. there's even a flea market with some great handmade pieces hand made my jamie. how beautiful are the cactus blooms...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

i cannot believe she's eleven weeks old already. so cliche, i know, but time flies...

this is a really fun time, she's still very cuddly, but really starting to wake up to the world. she really loves to look around and see what's going on around her. she loves mirrors and mobiles...she's even starting to grab for toys and smile a lot more. she's still a pretty serious baby, though! everyday it seems like there are huge milestones. she still doesn't want to take the bottle, so i've had to stick pretty close to her...i'm trying to concoct some plans so i can stay home longer with her. production hours don't really work too well nursing a new baby. so fingers crossed...